We recently purchased an automated litter box for our 4 & 5 year old cats and so far, they haven't used it at all. Anybody have experience with this? They just keep using their old one, which is fine, we would just like to be able to leave for a couple days and not have my in-laws have to come scoop poop.
Lashanna to v.e.t. Monday. She behaved better than I expected but was very very frightened. She hadn't received FeLV vaccine yet so needed a test first. It takes 8 minutes to run and they left us alone in the room. I was holding her and she was trembling with fear. I kept stroking her and she calmed a bit. When staff returned she hid behind large piece of equipment. She was exhausted when we got home and very lethargic next day. She had three vaccines and a blood test. My arms feel sore after vaccination and clearly her paws were. By next day she was herself again, eating and playing soccer.
What did Lashanna bring home? Saw it early morning on the floor. Looked like a blob. Everything looks like a blob when I am not wearing glasses or contacts, but putting on glasses didn't help much. I thought mouse at first, long tail, but it was tiny even for a mouse. Had an egg fallen out of a nest and broken? Could it be embryonic bird? Tail was wrong. When I tried to get close enough to inspect Lashanna got very agitated. She stood guard all day. But a cat needs to go for "a little run" eventually and I was able to inspect it. Although tiny it had a snout with tiny teeth as well as claws and tail longer than body length. Figured it out. Possum. Marsupials are born as embryos and develop in mother's pouch. This one was too well developed to be a newborn. Either fell out of pouch or didn't thrive so mother pushed it out. Animals are not sentimental, they don't expend energy on a baby that won't survive. I disposed of it. Lashanna is annoyed. RIP.
Sometimes they just fall off. Opossums have so many young. I have several regulars that show up at night and hang out on the patio with my cats when they don't want to come in. Once, my mum left out a mayonnaise jar for them to clean out. Possum got it's head caught in it and I had to pull it free. It looked shocked when it was no longer wearing a jar mask and had all this mayo smeared on its face. I've had some little ones sometimes fall off on the patio and taken them to the wildlife rescue that is very well-acquainted with me.
I finally settled on a name for the stray male calico that comes here everyday for pets and food (in that order). Saw him three days ago on the lower acre of my property with my black cat. Then I realized my black cat was sitting behind me. I might have another cat. On top of that, making arrangements for a play-date for a kitty that's been left homeless because its owner from down in town had to be placed in a nursing home. So there's that, too.
Male calico? Are you sure it is both calico and male? Some people mistake tabby for calico. Calicos are over 99% female. Lashanna just caught a mouse. Cat is on a roll.
You know, it might be some strange harlequin coating, though. Although I can't find any with markings like this in my web searches. It might just be piebald. It's mostly white with gray tabby markings spattered over it. About a quarter of the head and a lesser percentage over other parts of the body.
A calico is equal parts black and orange (gray and peach for dilute calico) in random pastern on white background. If the cat doesn't have both black and orange not calico.
So terrible. A neighborhood cat was poisoned. I think a local stray but doesn't make it OK. Neighbor called Animal Control because cat was suffering but it's not like calling 911. By the time they arrived poor cat had died.
So sad. So terrible. One of my strays has moved into the house now. He sleeps with me and acts surprisingly co-dependent, which makes me think someone just discarded him.
A New Quantum Cheshire Cat Thought Experiment Is Out of the Box This article is certainly over my head, but very interesting nonetheless. Huge shoutout to Yakir Aharonov, still cracking away at the mysteries of quantum mechanics at the ripe old age of 92. That's impressive!
Every time I see anything new about quantum theory I rush to see of they've figured out how to observe, predict, or manipulate quantum entanglement. The idea of FTL communication is so freaking interesting to me.
I am in the doghouse with my cat. She came in calling in the way that means successful hunt. I found her in the bathroom. A small bird was in the corner. I poked the bird to see if it was alive or dead (Schrodinger state not applicable). The bird, very much alive, flew upward and landed in the sink. I threw a towel over it, rolled it up and carried it outside. The bird flew away, apparently not seriously harmed. Lashanna is mad. I honestly wouldn't mind if she killed and ate her prey, she's a cat, but she just wants to play with it.
